Where can you buy a house under $400,000 in Canberra?

27 February 2018

Last year ended on a high for the Canberra housing market with six suburbs hitting the $1 million mark for the first time. The nation’s capital produced the second-best performance compared with Australia’s other major cities in the December 2017 quarter.

As house prices continue to leap forward and set new records, it has resulted in an eye-watering median price. A figure that is certain to leave first-home buyers feeling deflated about their prospects of affording a home.

There is however a glimmer of hope for first home buyers – there are houses in Canberra that have sold for less than $400,000. According to statistics from 2017 Canberra property sales, the ten best suburbs in Canberra for housing affordability, under the $400,000 threshold included:

1. Belconnen, with one in every two houses sold were priced below $400,000.
2. Holt, with 29 per cent of houses selling below $400,000.
3-5. Houses in Charnwood, Moncrieff and Phillip accounted for 15% of sales below this pricing threshold.
6-7. Wright and Latham accounted for 11 per cent of houses sold for less than $400,000
8-9. Ngunnawal and Scullin, with one in every 10 houses.
10. Gordon completes the 10 suburbs to offer the greatest affordability, with 9 per cent of houses sold below $400,000.

Another 48 suburbs across Canberra recorded house transactions priced under $400,000 last year.

The proportion of houses sold for under $400,000 is likely to have been propped up by townhouse transactions. Townhouses have become a popular affordable alternative to a detached house, particularly for those averse to apartment living.

The $400,000 threshold is close to the average first-home buyer loan financed in the ACT, currently at $303,200, according to the ABS.